1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for extracting a bullet from a cartridge casing, and more particularly, to a hand-held device used in combination with a loading press, to stationarily position the bullet as the cartridge casing is separated from the bullet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a well-known practice among shooters and riflemen to disassemble a fire arm cartridge into its various components which include a bullet, a cartridge casing, and a charge of propellent powder. The cartridge is disassembled for various reasons. It may be desirable to reload the cartridge with a different type of bullet and to change the type of propellent powder as desired by the user. Once the cartridge is disassembled it is then reloaded to include the desired bullet and propellent powder in the cartridge.
There are many approaches and tools utilized to extract a bullet from a cartridge casing. One type of bullet puller is known as the inertia bullet puller, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,661, in which the cartridge is positioned in the bore of a carrier tube and is securely gripped by a jaw or a cam-like mechanism. The cartridge is thus stationarily positioned so that when the opposite end of the carrier tube is impacted with a surface, the bullet is extracted from the cartridge by the inertia force, which exceeds the force exerted by the cartridge wall on the bullet. Another example of an inertia bullet puller is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,908, where the cartridge is securely locked in place by engagement with sliding plates to accommodate the diameter of the cartridge. In this manner, various cartridge calibers can be reloaded. Once the cartridge is securely held in place, a hammer-like head portion is struck on a solid object to separate the bullet from the cartridge casing, as above described with regard to U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,661. A further improvement to the known inertia-type bullet pullers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,989, in which the bullet is propelled by air pressure through a tube to a point where the cartridge is obstructed from further advancement and is separated from the bullet which is propelled into contact with the plate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,9790,508; 3,123,369; and 4,005,630 are examples of press-type devices that are securable to a table for extracting the bullet from the cartridge casing. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,970,508, a gripping device includes a plurality of spring fingers that firmly grip and hold the bullet. Then, a press handle is moved downwardly to move the cartridge with the bullet being retained fixed by the fingers. The fingers automatically tighten against the bullet so that further downward movement of the cartridge casing separates the cartridge casing from the bullet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,369 discloses a bullet puller in which bullets of all calibers can be extracted from the cartridge casing without changing any parts of the puller. The puller includes pivotal jaws having curved surfaces which rotate to determine the size of the opening for receiving the bullet. Once the jaws engage the bullet, they are locked in place. The cartridge is then inserted in a press and a downward force is applied to the cartridge. The bullet is pulled from the cartridge because it resists the downward movement of the cartridge. This device permits a wide range of bullet calibers to be handled and permits a continuous feed of bullets for extraction.
A bullet press that includes a jaw-like device for engaging the bullet is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,630. An upward force is applied to a handle connected to a chuck to separate the bullet from the cartridge casing. The force is exerted by the chuck on the bullet with an increase in the force exerted on the handle of the press. Further examples of extracting a bullet from a cartridge casing are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,824,482 and 2,449,059.
While the inertia bullet pullers and press-type bullet pullers are well known, the known devices utilize a complicated construction for jointly performing the operation of holding the bullet stationary while the cartridge casing is moved to separate the bullet from the cartridge casing or the cartridge casing is held stationary and force is applied to the bullet to remove it from the cartridge casing. The prior art devices have attempted to provide a bullet puller or extractor that is sufficiently versatile to permit disassembly of a range of bullet calibers, but these efforts have increased the complexity and associated expense to the reloader. Therefore, there is need to provide a bullet extractor that is operable for use with a conventional loading press that allows handling of a range of bullet calibers without a requiring modification to the basic loading press for hand disassembly or reloading of a cartridge without damaging the extracted bullet.